TGIF Blogcast: Sen Michael Bennet; FCC's error; Fresh water from the sea

Come travel with me (and, more importantly, with my wife)

The 2026 listener trip is going to be a fantastic blend of culture, history, food, and new friendships. Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava. Lots of cool tours and activities. Hang out (a lot!) with me and Kristen. Make great new friends of other KOA listeners. So much of the trip included in the shockingly low price. Please join us for what promises to be yet another memorable trip!

The Great Cities of Eastern Europe with Ross Kaminsky - Cruise & Tour

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Just One Thing: Brendan Carr's big mistake

A couple of paragraphs from today's new post on my Substack. Please read the whole thing and subscribe (for free) here: Bad move by Brendan Carr - by Ross Kaminsky

Kimmel, whose ratings have already been struggling and who was at risk of not having his contract renewed beyond its current expiration in May of next year, might perhaps have been suspended by ABC just because of that.

But we’ll never really know because then the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr — whose been a guest on my show several times before he became chairman — threatened ABC with a mafia-like line: “we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.”

Great note by Matt Bai: Opinion | Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension shows we need a rebirth of actual liberalism - The Washington Post

Meanwhile, Carr is doubling down: FCC Chair Hints He's Eyeing 'The View' Next After Jimmy Kimmel Suspension

This is one of the most egregiously ignorant interviews I've heard from a member of Congress in a long time, and that's saying something.

This speaks for itself:

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Today's Guests

Brandon Dugan is a professor in the Dept of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines and one of the lead scientists on a fascinating project searching for large quantities of fresh water under the ocean floor.

Scientists tap 'secret' fresh water under the ocean, raising hopes for a thirsty world - Department of Geophysics

Scientists Tap 'Secret' Fresh Water Under Ocean

Meet one of the Co-chief Scientists: Brandon Dugan – IODP³-NSF Expedition 501: New England Shelf Hydrogeology

Expedition 501 summary - ECORD: European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling

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Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Colorado. We'll talk about as much as we can fit in during our conversation but obviously a big topic of conversation will be political violence and how Americans (don't) communicate with each other.

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Other Stuff

A fun thing to do this weekend: US Air Force Thunderbirds ready fly at the Great Colorado Air Show

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RFK Jr might have interesting points to make on some issues like what's in our food but he's stupid and dangerous on vaccines and has stacked the relevant HHS committee with lackies who decided this on the basis of ZERO science. This will likely cause unnecessary illness and death and I don't say that as hyperbole:

CDC advisory committee votes to delay MMR vaccine for children until 4

ChatGPT on whether MMR is safe at 12 months: https://chatgpt.com/s/t_68cc8ca55268819180c2b33c2304ff38

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I suspect a lot of folks will say "It's about time!": FTC Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster for Engaging in Illegal Ticket Resale Tactics and Deceiving Artists and Consumers about Price and Ticket Limits | Federal Trade Commission

FTC sues Ticketmaster, saying it forces fans to pay more for concerts and events | AP News

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Gov Polis jumps in to the Buc-ee's debate: Gov. Jared Polis joins voices against Buc-ee's in Palmer Lake | Government | gazette.com

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This is shocking: EDITORIAL: Our legislature imperils public safety yet again | Editorials | gazette.com

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Sometimes business is a dog-eat-dog world: Founder vs. president: Trial to decide future of dog toymaker Kong begins

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More often than not, I'm against rule changes to get around intransigence but I'm fine with this one and fine if a Democratic administration uses the change to their benefit, especially understanding it's only for lower-level non-judicial appointees: Senate Republicans confirm 48 Trump nominees at once | AP News

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Nutrition or candy? Are Protein Bars Good for You? What to Know About Nutrition. - The New York Times

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There's bad language here but I'm sharing anyway. This group of students -- who opposed Charlie Kirk's views -- wrote a great note in the aftermath of Charlie's murder. I wish more people were this generous in disagreement.

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This story is slightly odd: Two arrested in ICE operation that led to protests at Mexican restaurant in Frisco, Colo.

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The computers fighting the computers: When It Comes to Spotting Fake Receipts, It’s A.I. vs. A.I. - The New York Times

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I probably won't talk about this on the show...too much sadness lately. But I want to share it in part because I'm a little surprised that two young healthy guys died this way. I don't think it was extremely cold, though it might have gotten down to freezing overnight. I wonder what happened...feel very bad for their families. Family: Missing elk hunters found dead in Colorado - The Colorado Sun

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I talked yesterday about how Britain and Germany have committed industrial suicide by embarking on truly idiotic energy policies that were always inevitably going to cause energy prices to go much higher. And high energy prices are death to heavy industry because energy prices are such a large part of their cost structures. California has embarked on the same path but Gov Gavin Newsom, who wants to be president and therefore basically has to become a different person, is trying to save the state from his policies by backing off slightly from the insanity: California Wants to Halt Oil Industry Exodus After Years of Climate Focus

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Some fun music trivia: Creedence Clearwater Revival's 5 No. 2 Hot 100 Hits: What Blocked Them

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Today's Videos

I had to read the captions to figure out just what this is

One of the fiercest dogs ever